Covid-19: Businesses and the Private Sector

Baroness Kennedy of Cradley Excerpts

Thursday 21st May 2020 Lords Chamber

[Baroness Kennedy of Cradley (Lab)]

My Lords, I too thank the noble Lord, Lord Dobbs, for this debate. The incredible effort of businesses large and small needs to be recognised. There is no doubt that there are many heroes in the private sector who are to be thanked for their role in this crisis, such as those joining the national effort to deliver PPE, from our great engineering and manufacturing companies that have switched their production lines, to a pub in Cumbria which has become a makeshift PPE factory, and wedding dress makers now producing aprons and masks.

In the retail food sector, workers have put their lives at risk to keep us fed. Sadly, a recent survey by the trade union USDAW has shown that shop worker abuse has increased during the Covid outbreak. I commend USDAW for its continued campaigning on this issue. Can the Minister give an update on the government consultation into shop worker abuse?

By working together, the supermarkets have kept food on our shelves. They have listened to customers and helped to get food to vulnerable people. The Co-op, for example, has donated over £1 million of food to FareShare to feed those at risk of hunger. But the Government have over-relied on this sector to deliver food to the vulnerable through online deliveries and were slow to realise that this was not the complete solution. Is the Minister confident that his department is doing all it can to ensure that the food supply needs of high-risk groups are being met? Will the business learning from this crisis on food supply and demand be fed into the national food strategy?

In closing, I echo the words of the noble Lord, Lord Dobbs, and recognise the role of our local corner shops. They have been a lifeline to many, especially those who feel safer shopping in smaller, less crowded spaces. Despite financial pressures, they have, for example, given products away to NHS staff and pensioners, arranged free deliveries and set up shops in hospital car parks. Corner shops have done a phenomenal job, so what action are the Government taking to ensure that these small businesses survive and take full advantage of the help available to them?